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The United States Justice Department filed charges against Megaupload today, calling the file-sharing service an "international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy." Founder Kim Dotcom and three Megaupload executives were arrested today in Auckland, New Zealand at the request of the US government under provisional arrest warrants, and the DOJ describes three other execs as "at large."
The complaint alleges that Megaupload, founder Kim Dotcom, and his team are responsible for $175 million in "criminal proceeds" and "more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners." Specifically, Kim Dotcom and six of his executives are charged with running "the Mega conspiracy websites" under a business model "expressly designed to promote uploading of the most popular copyrighted works." The DOJ also says Megaupload also developed its uploader rewards program as a means of laundering money.
The complaint charges Dotcom, his executives, the Megaupload Limited company and a second company called Vestor Limited which Dotcom used to shield his personal assets. Specifically, the charges are:
The DOJ has also issued more than 20 search warrants in the US and eight other countries, seized more than $50m in assets in the US, Netherlands, and Canada, and seized more than 18 domain names associated with Megaupload. The investigation was led by the FBI with broad international assistance from New Zealand, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines.
The charges and the arrests come just a few weeks after Megaupload itself filed suit against Universal Music Group for having a controversial promotional video featuring Kanye West, will.i.am, and other celebrities pulled from YouTube — it appears that battle was just a minor skirmish before a much broader international war. The enforcement effort also comes just one day after the internet community launched massive protests against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act in the United States, a law which would grant the government the ability to block sites like Megaupload from the US internet. While SOPA has been tabled for the moment, the Megaupload case should prove to be a flashpoint for the issue in the months to come: both an example of how large the claimed piracy problem has become and how the US can already enforce its laws with broad international support. Get ready for a ride.
Update: Rick Shera, a New Zealand-based attorney, reports on Twitter that Kim Dotcom's mansion is blockaded by police at all entrances. No escaping this one, it seems.
Comments
“international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy.”
Sounds like the MPAA to me.
MacEnvy - January 19, 2012
This seems just really weird. Why would the assumption be that the people running the site are responsible for piracy acts committed by its users? It’s like they’ve forgotten all about the DMCA. Or maybe Megaupload didn’t respond to DMCA takedown requests. In any case some very strong wording. I don’t think I’ve seen a DOJ statement like this since the Napster & Kazaa piracy cases. It is just like you say, sounds like a MPAA staffer wrote it.
::er - January 19, 2012
They do respond to DMCA take down requests
DoctorComrade - January 19, 2012
No no no, you got it all wrong, they just don’t check their email that often. Or their phones. Or their real mail.
They’re just reclusive is all.
phillibuster - January 19, 2012
Mega Upload THRIVES on piracy. I’m a content producer and I am struggling to make a living and I see my stuff on Mega Upload all the time with THOUSANDS of downloads. The worst part is that the uploader makes money when people download my files. Megaupload pays pirates.
My partner owns an anti piracy company, and megaupload does respond to DMCAs, but usually won’t remove repeat infringers from their system. So it’s an endless game of whack-a-mole where the only people who lose are the content producers.
For the record, I’m not endorsing SOPA, if that’s what this sounds like. SOPA is not what we need, but DMCA laws are not working either.
Emerson - January 22, 2012
The problem that I see is that they still capitalized off of the videos with ads and charging if users didn’t want to wait 30 minutes in between 72 minute allotments. And that’s just with MegaVideo. Same goes for MegaUpload having people purchase “Pro” accounts or whatever they were called in order to have more privileges.
Spike - January 19, 2012
Hmm, I see, this kind of makes more sense in that context.
::er - January 19, 2012
So then YouTube should be shut down too then. People upload stuff to that, which is infringing on copyright holders. They have ads and make money off of them.
DoctorComrade - January 19, 2012
Exactly. It’s a universal issue for debate. But it’s questionable how exactly the DOJ is going to act with the rest of the Internet.
Spike - January 19, 2012
But this goes to anything thats streaming or whatever.
Look at Vimeo, Own3d (streamers playing music thats copyrighted), DailyMotion, Break… Just to name a few. The users can upload whatever they want but its up to the copyright holders to request to take it down. There simply isn’t enough people working their to screen each thing being uploaded.
This is a slippery slope.
DoctorComrade - January 19, 2012
Yeah. Not sure how they’re going to take action against everyone else. This is what I see SOPA as being once it’s approved into law.
Spike - January 19, 2012
Except SOPA can’t touch .com or .org sites.
Andrew Brennan - January 19, 2012
So it won’t touch ThePirateBay?
DoctorComrade - January 19, 2012
megaupload.???
backporchprophet - January 20, 2012
i’m curious how sites like youtube keep porn off its servers. if they can keep porn off (in an automated fashion) – they can likely do so with copyrighted content.
bewirenomali - January 19, 2012
I think they have a scanner that looks for anything with unusually high amounts of “flesh tones” in the video and red flags them before they’re permitted to be posted.
Of course this might not work for some of the more perverse material out there.
KnightNZ - January 19, 2012
So in theory a human would then look at the flagged material.Basically they would get paid to look at porn Cool..
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
While I agree if the problem was just "MegaUpload has infringing content on it", then yes, it’d be a slippery sloap.
But, according to the indictment, it appears that MegaUpload:
a) knew about specific copyrighted material
b) had the ability to both search for and prevent it from being uploaded (they had an internal search engine [which they’d use whenever employees requested links, most often to copyrighted material], and there was MD5-based matching in place), and
c) actively refused to do so (even when informed by third parties)
so I doubt that YouTube, Vimeo and DailyMotion will be targeted because of this.
MarkKB - January 19, 2012
Clarification: I meant " c) actively refused to remove said material".
MarkKB - January 19, 2012
It’s not. Rapidshare won several similar cases on this grounds.
Kirion - January 19, 2012
youtube is in a much stronger position for one simple reason, user base. There are far, FAR too many people enjoying and using youtube as is, if the feds tried to radically cripple the functionality of youtube there would be a massive backlash.
It’s kind of like the speed limit, we all go over it and can be pulled over for that, but if the police pulled everyone who went ~5 mph over the speed limit all the time there would be riots and that power would be stripped from the officers enforcing that law.
That is the nature of power, it is not unlimited, and it extends only so far as the public will tolerate in an open democracy.
Sammael - January 19, 2012
One simpler reason: Google.
jimbonics - January 19, 2012
Yeah. Google is not going to let youtube get shut down, its just that simple.
iCello - January 19, 2012
Yeah, and Google has much more lobbying power than most and yet they bitch about lobbyists supporting SOPA.
Go figure.
Boghog - January 19, 2012
Well Google doesn’t post infringing content themselves or send more than $10000 across borders.
jpcg - January 19, 2012
how do you think people make money off their ads? of course google sends people all over the world money, and some certainly make >$10k!
SunnyDee - January 20, 2012
Megaupload claimed 120 million registered users worldwide. That’s HUGE.
MacEnvy - January 20, 2012
Youtube doesn’t charge people to upload, nor do they have any restrictions on users that don’t pay. I can get that megaupload.com looked shady because they were caught laundering money that they earned. Hell, Al Capone was indicted on little more that tax evasion. But taking down an entire site that people pay to use is a bad example to set. This proves that there are even broader implications for sites that users don’t subscribe to (with their dollar), like YouTube.
It’s also worth mentioning that this site, megaupload.com, is a site that SOPA promised not to go after, because it ends in .com. This kind of speaks to me, in that, the DOJ already has the power that we are so vehemently protesting in SOPA and PIPA, but that we just now pissed them off enough so that they’ll use it. Within, and outside of, our borders.
None of the things that we’re trying to protect, now, have been safe since the Patriot Act was passed. That gave them the right to find as much “probable cause” as they wanted, and that’s what they did. Do you know how long it would take to collect the amount of evidence that they have collected against Megaupload? Regardless of the fact that it sucks, and it’s bullshit, that was expensive to do… guess who paid for it? :P
backporchprophet - January 20, 2012
I’d hate for this to be my first comment here, but here goes:
Before jumping to conclusions, please read the indictment. You can read the whole thing if you want, but it really starts getting interesting at page 25.
Interesting tidbits, if you’re of the TLDR variety:
*Employees regularily asked the people in charge of operations for links to illegal content, which they complied with (there was apparently an internal search engine)
I don’t know about you, but to me that’s pretty damning.
MarkKB - January 19, 2012
Oh, one other thing – their “Top 100” list isn’t actually the 100 most downloaded files – rather, it’s a curated list which doesn’t include any illegal material, apparently in an attempt to make themselves look better.
MarkKB - January 19, 2012
But the law only ever required them to adhere to DMCA requests which they did. They removed access to content that was flagged up to 5000 times a day for any single copyright holding requesting so.
sabret00the - January 20, 2012
First, aguably MegaUpload might have been adhearing to the letter but not the spiirit of the law. They removed only URLs specified by the DMCA requests, but not the files themselves, which were often linked to by other URLs.
Which doesn’t really matter because you’re wrong. To qualify for safe harbour you must:
MarkKB - January 20, 2012
Alright. My immediate knee jerk reaction to this was that the government was being evil, but the more I hear about Megaupload, the more it sounds bad. I don’t agree that Google is bad because of youtube, but Megaupload is.
iCello - January 20, 2012
See comments like this and the fact that it’s been recommended so much show me how mislead most of the readers here are…
Say what you want about the proposed bills but its completely sensible that music & movie makers want to protect their property.
That does NOT make them criminals!
Capt4Chris - January 19, 2012
Well if you’re going to go down that road… how about I want to protect my hard-earned money from going into the already-overflowing pockets of entertainment executives? They’re hurting me too!
On a more serious note, having to pay so much for entertainment (music, movies… etc) while still being restricted by DRM, or having to wait extra weeks to see something on Netflix, or having to buy the same thing multiple times in order to watch/listen to it on multiple devices… etc etc, is certainly not making me sympathetic to the entertainment conglomerates’ cause. How about re-thinking the distribution model and prices vs. availability? That might be a good beginning… I’m more likely to buy media if I can consume it anywhere I want and anytime I want.
As to this particular debacle, it serves no purpose. Taking Megaupload down does not nothing to stop piracy. There are plenty of other websites doing the same thing, and even if there weren’t, another one would take its place.
It’s like SOPA. The government wants to put a big barricade in the middle of the street leading to a website containing pirated material, yet all you have to do to get around it is take another street because they forgot there’s more than one street leading there.
It’d be a far more interesting debate if they actually tried to figure out what would make people less likely to pirate something. Nobody’s bothered to ask that question yet though.
Eric2203 - January 19, 2012
Great article and quote that sums up what I’m trying to say:
“I think our “representatives” in Washington got the message with all of the outrage and protests behind SOPA today. Of all of the commentary, this quote really bugged me:
""Why is it that when Republicans and Democrats need to solve the budget and the deficit, there’s deadlock, but when Hollywood lobbyists pay them $94 million dollars to write legislation, people from both sides of the aisle line up to co-sponsor it?""
- Reddit Founder Alexis Ohanian on CNBC.
Piracy wouldn’t be a problem if the studios and record lables would make content available widely for a fair price, and stopped treating paying customers like theives by using DRM."
Source: http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2012/01/the-real-problem-with-the-anti-piracy-bills.html
Eric2203 - January 19, 2012
Good call, I have on multiple occasions felt justified pirating android apps that I have already bought on iOS. People don’t want to go to a video store to rent a movie when it’s easier to just pirate it. So make the movie available to stream the same day it comes out on blu-ray and then people no longer have that excuse. Most pirates are consumers begging for a way to give you their money. If I could stream all the latest movies and tv shows to any device the day it becomes available I would pay the provider a mint. Video stores are dead and the network TV model is dieing. Many years ago when you paid for cable you didn’t have to watch commercials.Then the Network TV industry figured out they can double dip. Now people are figuring out that if they just download a show they don’t have to watch commercials. So I watch their show without commercials and I don’t pay for cable. Basically, they make nothing off of me. If instead they let me subscribe to an online streaming service that provided me the latest shows in HD on-demand and charged me $30-40/mo they would make money off of me and I could stop buying harddrives. I have recently bought quite a few games on on-live because I love their distribution model. I can buy a game once and play it on my TV, any computer or my Xoom.
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
Yeah, I wish they would make something like that. Maybe for even less than you are suggesting.
rjcassara - January 20, 2012
My first comment and I agree with Eric on this one. The last two sentences are valid points. And the answer is why everything is this country is so bad. It’s all about extraordinary profit and the greed that goes hand in hand with it.
RDSpeer - January 20, 2012
Louis CK did recently ask that question. He offered an hour-long 720p download of his latest show for a measly $5. Easy to pay for, right-click to download and save, no DRM, no nagware, no spam. The answer? $1 million of sales in 12 days.
https://buy.louisck.net/news
Did people pirate it? I’m sure they did. But this is one data point that suggests an alternative approach that is beneficial both to the artist and to the the fans of the artist. Notice how I left out “recording labels” and “music industry executives”. They probably won’t like getting cut out of the action.
traycer - January 20, 2012
RIAA has long be an organized crime syndicate. Tons of price fixing etc. So much so the judges really hate getting RIAA lawsuits. The economy sucks and they just need someone to blame. Megaupload didn’t cost them a thing. Hell it probably promoted their stuff hence why all these musical artists supported it. They’re smarter than the RIAA. RIAA is stuck in a time warp as well as whoever is running the MPAA … Nothing like free advertising. End up buying movies used anyway and cd’s. (yeah what are cd’s :P )
PatrynXX - January 23, 2012
I wonder how devastated will.i.am is…
ericleamen - January 19, 2012
Wow, that’s powerful wording by the Justice Department….
Joseph_Phoenix - January 19, 2012
I guess I won’t be getting my money back for the time I just bought on Megaupload a few weeks ago…
Mike.S - January 19, 2012
Joke. Less than 1% of the content on MegaUpload is illegal, but they see it as justification for labelling the entire website an “international organized criminal enterprise”.
Hammered Pizza - January 19, 2012
Source please? I can’t find anywhere that states exactly what proportion of megaupload’s user-contributed content illegal.
I did find a source that says Megaupload is responsible for 1.5% of all illegal US internet traffic: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/02/report-onefourth-web-traffic-pirated
That’s a big piece of traffic for one site.
WilliamF - January 19, 2012
1.5% of 1/4th of the traffic. But then again they aren’t looking at the deep web too.
DoctorComrade - January 19, 2012
Nope, 1.5% of total traffic. Not 1.5% of the 23.8%.
WilliamF - January 19, 2012
Bandwidth != storage.
They can push mostly pirated content and still have mostly non-pirated content.
I’m not agreeing with either commenter; only math.
Meatsquad - January 19, 2012
This is true, but what’s a better way of counting a site’s contributions? What they host or what they serve? The content that drives traffic is what finances the site operations.
WilliamF - January 19, 2012
Seriously? In my experience a ton of the content on megaupload is pirated.
alittlenegative - January 19, 2012
You are only looking for pirated content then.
DoctorComrade - January 19, 2012
its pretty hard to miss.
thommiller - January 19, 2012
except for some reason the Spanish Government anti piracy wing stored their legal docs against pirates there. oh well. lose an ally. what the heck…
PatrynXX - January 23, 2012
completely – there’s so much that means the poster is searching for that content or clicking links to pirated content.
The Jake - January 19, 2012 via mobile
Yup, I’ve downloaded about 300 files from megaupload.com in the last 12 months, none of them illegal, all just Android ROM downloads (each file is around 600MB), open source baby! Illegal content? I’ve seen them but they have disappeared pretty rather quickly.
zedomax - January 20, 2012
All the fun is spoiled.
Leica_Virgin - January 19, 2012
Looks like the Megaupload song was not so MEGA afterall. RIP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Wvn-9BXVc
Matous Vales - January 19, 2012
Nooo. I like MegaUpload… sometimes. Hastily looks for an alternative
Spike - January 19, 2012
As if it takes a lot of effort. Remove Megaupload, watch as 20 others attempt to take its place.
Bla1ze - January 19, 2012
Cut of the head, three more grow in its place. A classic story.
Spike - January 19, 2012
The power of the hydra.
nukejello - January 19, 2012
Three more heads, more powerful and agile than the original.
Really, when you think about it, pirates are The Borg. You can attack and kill some of them successfully, but those remaining will adapt.
MayorBloomberg - January 19, 2012
and they waste all this money doing this. like Iraq. they dived right in the middle of it…. usually it’s easier to grab the outside first …. which is pretty much how Libya fell.
PatrynXX - January 23, 2012
Aren’t sites like Rapidshare and Mediafire pretty much the same thing?
.jay - January 19, 2012
RapidShare, MegaUpload, HotFile, FileSonic, UploadKing, 4Share, UploadHere, FileServe, DepositFiles, ZShare, WUpload are all nigh identical in function, and to a lesser extent, so are Dropbox, Minus, Box, etc.
Then you’ve got the myriad of Torrent sites. The difference with the above is that the sites have the content on their servers so may be able to be done for possession of copyrighted material or some suitable variant.
MultiUpload got the finger pointed at it as the guys running the show were being allegedly being more suspect than most by the sound of it.
If they shut all these sites down, then the legitimate OS updates for my Android devices are going to be much more difficult to obtain.
KnightNZ - January 19, 2012
what? you still use megaupload? megaupload is so 8 months ago.
wwert - January 19, 2012
Yep, just like when Napster got taken down. People were already on Kazaa by then.
MayorBloomberg - January 19, 2012
I still use newsgroups. I bet I can download much faster then you.
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
Rapidshare, Zshare, Depositfiles there are plenty.
Webran61 - January 19, 2012 via mobile
Ridiculous gov’t overreach rears its ugly head again!
It’s funny how when companies and big corps cry foul and claim they’re being irreversibly harmed, the government SPRINGS into action with over-the-top measures to fix or legislate the problems away. When ordinary people cry foul, our “representative” leaders give us lip service about agreeing with “the people” and then DO NOTHING.
Healthcare costs? Tax ratios? Public schools? Better services for citizens? Let’s kick the can down the road.
MPAA and RIAA’s industries won’t be able to make a record-profit next year due to some piracy issues? SHUT DOWN THE WEB!
We need to stand up as citizens and call bullshit when we smell it!
soflynolie - January 19, 2012
This is true, but people are beginning to grow very tired of the situation. Groups like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, while perhaps different in absolute agendas, are the result of the general public becoming tired with the status quo in Washington. Things like SOPA and PIPA, and the online community’s reaction, are just the latest chapter in the story.
If our “representatives” don’t figure that out pretty quickly, I think things are going to eventually come to a head…
Hexydes - January 19, 2012
You’re grouping legislative action and law enforcement into the same bucket. Long story short, this is completely wrong. Producing laws, or changing them, are extremely difficult and takes a bunch of people who don’t agree to come together and agree. Once a law is already in place, it’s very easy to act to enforce it. There’s a hierarchy of power that doesn’t require consensus.
MayorBloomberg - January 19, 2012
If only they knew exactly what they were attacking, I’m willing to bet most of the people that are going to be voting on this bill don’t even know how to use a keyboard.
NamTran23 - January 19, 2012
Does this Mr Dotcom has anything to do with the Dotcom in 30 Rock?
tsekh - January 19, 2012 via mobile
Was just thinking the same thing, and what are the chances that a guy born with the name Dotcom would go own to run a major website? Go figure.
durangojim - January 19, 2012
Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz.
cassidyjames - January 19, 2012
I figured he must have changed it.
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
I wonder if “criminal copyright infringement” is referring to allowing people to upload files so other people can download them. Is MegaUpload, who I’m sure is far from an organization of saints, supposed to check every single file that goes through their file sharing system? Is this Napster again?as
olegfishel - January 19, 2012
WOW. That’s a HUGE move y the DOJ.
© infringement nuke. It’s super effective!
Modred189 - January 19, 2012
This is getting out of control. Gov’t needs to know its boundaries. Fun fact though. It is rumored that producer/rapper Swizz Beatz is the CEO of megaupload. http://www.2dopeboyz.com/2012/01/18/swizz-beatz-ceo-of-megaupload/.
AlexObi1 - January 19, 2012
Consider that rumour confirmed.
mikey_clarke - January 19, 2012
Holy crap! I’ve enjoyed a lot of his work. Sucks to know he’s going to be arrested soon.
Virge - January 19, 2012
Kim Dotcom got Megauplocked…
I’ll show myself out.
devilfriend - January 19, 2012
please do
mattkicksass - January 19, 2012
Oh, damn. Going to be harder to find porn now.
bagel - January 19, 2012
Can’t tell if serious….
htowngtr - January 19, 2012
Hopefully it’s sarcasm… hopefully.
Kiso - January 19, 2012
Why shouldn’t I be serious? The site was a good source for decent quality video porn. Sure there are others but I was fond of this one.
bagel - January 19, 2012 via mobile
4Chan says “Hi!”.
KnightNZ - January 19, 2012
well FUCK. there goes my $200 account.
ankitsid - January 19, 2012
So… No more Vergecasts on MegaUpload.
lk - January 19, 2012 via mobile
For shame… MegaUpload was always the fasted one for me.
LOLDSFAN - January 19, 2012
This is good. I’d like to see the government get off it’s butt and make torrents a complete crime and vet each video on YouTube. Some stuff gets leaked through without any censorship. Criminal behaviors happening and no one’s paying the price. Policing the internet isn’t all that bad, just implement it better. China has a good system. If we block all proxies with new laws preventing developers of creating any proxy in the US will be fined and imprissioned, the message will be clear. Protect our content!
seth_p - January 19, 2012
/s
Bluedrago505 - January 19, 2012
;-)
seth_p - January 19, 2012
Oh good, because I was at a loss for words. I was starting to wonder where in seth_p-town I could download an Ubuntu Torrent.
chesterharry - January 19, 2012
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/alternative-download#bt
you get it from ubuntu
PB&JP - January 19, 2012
Let me guess. You work for the goverment
CMG90 - January 19, 2012
/s
MayorBloomberg - January 19, 2012
SOPA is alive and well.
Codernaut - January 19, 2012
Apparently we never even needed it.
Andrew MacKenzie - January 19, 2012
DING DING DING.
MayorBloomberg - January 19, 2012
this sucks, now im going to have to waste my time watching commercials on tv… i watched all my shows from megaupload links lol
Favone - January 19, 2012
Title says Australia but article says New Zealand
(I know a few New Zealanders that wouldn’t take kindly to being mixed up with Australia!)
sirchode - January 19, 2012
Damn you! You beat me to it.
Popple3 - January 19, 2012
I was about to mention that too. NZ and Australia are NOT the same thing
sfox8 - January 19, 2012
Yeah.. New Zealand has all those hobbits running around while Australia is the one with the opera house and the Myxomatosis.
chesterharry - January 19, 2012
That’s Americans for you..
thisismynextname - January 19, 2012
It’s not our fault that we don’t care about anyone else. Or ourselves really when it comes down to it.
phillibuster - January 19, 2012
Anyone else in NZ feel like breaking them out?
LeroyB - January 19, 2012
And the award for name of the year goes to? Kim Dot Com!
T1nman - January 19, 2012
Kim Dot Net would disagree.
Codernaut - January 19, 2012
Kim Dot Org
Colonel Sassy - January 19, 2012
Kim Dot TV
jayefef - January 19, 2012
Kim Dot BG
TechyMexican - January 19, 2012
Kim Dot Il
ranhalt - January 19, 2012
Kim Slash Dot
Codernaut - January 19, 2012
Kim Jong il
Wait, am I doing this right?
Indefinite Implosion - January 19, 2012
Beat me to it.
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
He should seek asylum in North Korea.
Kim Dot Un.
CroakVan - January 19, 2012
Kim Dotcom Slash Robots Dot Tee Ex Tee
shakil314 - January 19, 2012
Kim Dot Epic 4G Touch
profernity - January 19, 2012
Who would have thought that they’d just do whatever they want and arrest them anyway, even without SOPA!?
Dylan Spronck - January 19, 2012
They don’t need SOPA to shut down US domains. They already have that right.
ranhalt - January 19, 2012
America……… fuck yeah. Here to save the mother fucking day.
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
Man, those 2Tb HDDs are going to come in handy in the impending digital apocalypse…
profernity - January 19, 2012
Not his first endeavor of this kind.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz
the nucular man - January 19, 2012
I wonder who rushed to update that article…
drumdbeat - January 20, 2012
It comforting to know that MegaUpload gets more attention than the Wall Street criminals that nearly destroyed the world economy.
Codernaut - January 19, 2012
A few music, TV and movie executives are more important than millions of people who were swindled I guess.
jayefef - January 19, 2012
man your profile picture is confusing!
amazingMic - January 19, 2012
RIAA/MPAA said “Fine, you couldn’t pass SOPA, at least attack this company to save face”
htowngtr - January 19, 2012
Exactly what I was thinking.
CrownSeven - January 19, 2012
People complain about how slow the media companies have been to adapt to new technology, yet there is a huge chunk of the public that are immoral cheap asses that continually take advantage of the technology to rip companies off. I don’t see stealing songs or movies as any different than stealing from a store. Maybe, just maybe, if theft wasn’t so prevalent, these media companies wouldn’t be dragging there feet so much in pushing new methods of media consumption. It’s you little punk ass thieves that have ruined it for the rest of us.
AlexRod - January 19, 2012
I agree there is a lot of piracy that is going on, and the artists deserve to get paid. The ..AA’s however have a history of questionable legal practices, strong arming, and were themselves breaking the law by defying Edison’s trusts and patents. JP MOrgan financed them enough to break Edisons trusts over the movie industry. Then they morphed into a Cabal of control themselves. I have absolutely zero respect for them or their methods. If I can buy an album direct and pay the artist direct: NIN and Radiohead come to mind I I buy the albums. I wish I could do this for movies.
side note:(LA was close to Mexico so it made for an easy run from the law to Mexico when cops showed up top the studios Paramount/Fox etc started as criminals and left their legacy in the industry)
chesterharry - January 19, 2012
Someone post the .jpg:
Piracy isn’t stealing. It’s piracy. Stealing means that the person you stole from no longer has it.
mattkicksass - January 19, 2012
@Matt, That might be a valid argument, but entertainment is a service. When you go see a movie at the theaters, they keep the roll of film. Artist have a finite amount of demand for their service, and by stealing it, you have eliminated your portion of that demand. @Chester. I don’t have any alliance with the studios, I am more concerned about getting the content I want however and whenever I want it. Piracy, is slowing that evolution down. I think Louis CK may have proven that artist could sell directly to their fans, which I hope more artist follow his lead.
AlexRod - January 19, 2012
Wrong. Piracy is not theft, it is copyright infringement. They are different. There is no “valid arguement” here, just facts.
Read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowling_v._United_States_%281985%29
phillq23 - January 19, 2012
Also, you couldn’t be more wrong. I think more Piracy should put pressure on the industry to provide media the way I want it. After all I am the one who decides how I spend my money. Why should the film and television industry tell me how I want my media and what I can watch it on. For too long they have been so rich and powerful that they have been able to do whatever they want. Maybe now they can step back and actually listen to the consumer. The way I see it, by buying Blu-Ray discs you are supporting them in their archaic distribution models and slowing down the adaptation of new technology. Why would the industry change when they can currently get you to buy starwars 6 times. It’s the same movie and if you want to watch it on a tablet you need to buy it again. Enough with the shenanigans and double/triple dipping. Let me buy a movie once, take my money, and go make another one. The massive piracy is a direct result of just such a business model. Executives are trying to make money the easy way instead of just producing great films at fair prices. Thats my rant folks.
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
You are very right.. But not just distribution another important issue is quality.. Film is mainly 80’s remakes, I love comic books but how are the cartoon remakes often better than a full budgeted movie??? And I wont even get into how music focuses on marketing more than art..
Celz - January 20, 2012
jwoglom - January 19, 2012
It is still stealing something that you not have the right to have, no matter what twist you put on it.
Boghog - January 20, 2012
Very true it’s illegal, but if I steal a physical cd from Wal-Mart I have prevented them from selling a physical item that was produced with a physical cost.. If I choose to NOT PURCHASE a song and then download said song illegally I made my own copy at no physical cost.. It is illegal and wrong but I have already DECIDED NOT to purchase the song so me downloading it can not equated to a full purchase price loss..
The music and movie industries (especially music) need to take pride again in their craft. They look at their respective industries as product and not art. Art is subjective and when you attempt to mass produce art for profit you lose the value in your art. So people have no emotional connection to it and are not interested in purchasing it.
Would Picasso originals be worth anything if he was the 20th person to perfect cubism?? No they wouldn’t so why would I pay full price for commercialized art when there are artists that offer a better skilled and more innovative work for far less money??
I do a lot of work in the music industry so I am against pirating but today’s artists innovate in marketing and image more so than art..
Celz - January 20, 2012
I’m a musician. I don’t like piracy. But… It exists for a reason. And that reason is known as DRM. What I mean is, the current legal ways of obtaining content are a mess. Look at music. Piracy was rampant, until the iTunes store came a long. With movies, piracy still is rampant, because unlike with music the reason that people want digital copies of their movies is to watch them on all of their devices, which you can’t do with most legal digital video sources. People don’t want to steal, but if it’s easier they will. Frankly, I have on occasion bought something to support the artists involved in producing it and illegally acquired it, so that I can do what I want with it. I never just steal or pirate media or software, because stealing is wrong, but I believe that if I pay for something I should be able to do what I want with it.
iCello - January 19, 2012
Preach it brother. I do not feel bad about pirateing the android games I already paid for on iOS. Or downloading a copy of a movie I own on blu-ray so I can watch on my tablet.
Adam.Plante - January 19, 2012
Precisely.
iCello - January 20, 2012
First, theft is theft, piracy is piracy, they have different words for it for a reason. Don’t try to use analogies that doesn’t make sense.
Second, the media companies are making record amounts of revenue year after year, and you’re saying the public are full of immoral cheap asses? Yea, I bet everyone is pirating stuff and no one is buying anything, that’s why the media companies aren’t making any money. Oh wait a minute, did I forget to say they are making record amounts of money year after year?
That is why piracy is not theft. People might download songs, and if they enjoy it, I bet they would buy it. If they don’t, they won’t buy it. If the artist wanted to make money, then the artist should have made better content for people to feel like it’s worth buying. Obviously there has been more and more content, and that’s why people are giving more money away. However, just because the media companies think that they are justified to all your money for all the crap that they make doesn’t make it true. Is it fair? That’s subjective, but are they losing money because people are only paying for what they want? No, they are making tons of money in fact. The reason for this is likely because people who pirate are able to sample more content that they were ever able to do, and decided to buy more content that they would have because they found more content that they like. The media companies owe money to websites like thepiratebay and megaupload for the record money they’ve made.
silentpunch - January 19, 2012
Sucks that you guys don’t understand the difference between New Zealand and Australia
hyperperforator - January 19, 2012
This. New Zealand is where Peter Jackson makes his movies.
Codernaut - January 19, 2012
Kia Ora
Leica_Virgin - January 19, 2012
It’s also where they raise tasty lambs.
Lomifeh - January 20, 2012
There’s a little just between the place that the Brits used for people like these guys
Boghog - January 19, 2012
You broke the DOJ’s website
Return0 - January 19, 2012
Damn, guess I’m not renewing my account then… It really is a fantastic service despite how crazy Kim is or how much copyrighted material is on it.
scottkellum - January 19, 2012
Come on, they totally deserve this. Megavideo is basically just used to host pirated films/tv shows. If it wasn’t for that stupid time limit they introduced a while ago I’d still be using it. And the time limit is quite obviously so they can make money off of the copyright infringing material. They’ve had this coming for a long time.
thisismynextname - January 19, 2012
I thought their whole argument with SOPA was that they couldn’t go after the people overseas. Becuase appearantly they can. I suppose. Either way this solves nothing. The real problem is that these media companies don’t want to adapt, they just want to be lazy, and the fact that the copyright law wasn’t even written in the last two decades.
TCrimson05t - January 19, 2012
Because* (sighs)
TCrimson05t - January 19, 2012
They can’t. Megaupload is an american company. It’s just that their founder and the other executives were in New Zealand. If it was a New Zealand based company, they wouldn’t have been able to go after it. Or at least not without SOPA.
iCello - January 19, 2012
No it’s not. Megaupload is legally a Hong Kong Company with an international licence which allows it to operate internationally and not domestically. (Which was apparent when you cannot access any of it’s services inside Hong Kong).
It’s not an American company, but it’s main domain ends in a “.com”, which is American.
So i guess they went with this legal-thing, which means it doesn’t matter where you operate in the world, if you own an US domain that is accessible in the USA then you are accountable to the US jurisdiction.
So say again, why do the USA need SOPA/PIPA?
leo.tong.uk - January 20, 2012
.com domain. Precisely. SOPA is for non american domains. Not that I’m a supporter or anything.
iCello - January 20, 2012
The site’s founder’s name is Dotcom…
Now that’s Megafunny
Tikigawd - January 19, 2012
“Founder Kim Dotcom and three MegaUpload executives were arrested today in Auckland, New Zealand at the request of the US government under provisional arrest warrants”…
And yet, the executives that brought down our worlds economy were advisors to Bush and now are advising Obama…
Shocking what a difference it makes to have industry lobbyists control your government and in turn, control the rest of the world’s laws.
Folks, we are at the crossroads of what Mussolini called Corporate Facism…both Musollini and Hitler had the backing of large corporations who, inturn, helped write laws that governed the state.
lipper - January 19, 2012
Well megaupload violated criminal laws, or at least appears to have enough to have the us gov’t go after them. Note this action is for more than copyright violations. I don’t think you can say because you think X should have happened that this should not.
This is not a flagrant violation of power going after a political target from what I am reading.
Lomifeh - January 20, 2012
*mad…there goes my lifetime premium membership status.
babyhuyx - January 19, 2012
LOL this is a joke! The government could of stopped this wayyy before it even began but they decided to wait until they got huge now they decided to shut it down. I Guess all the money MegaUpload made from people is going straight to the governments pockets and record label maybe they needed a quick buck and decided this was a great idea to get a few mills here and there with SOPA.
josemedina1983 - January 19, 2012
Well a lot of times they will wait for someone to hit a threshold to go after them, why go for a small catch when you can get a huge whale.
Lomifeh - January 20, 2012
SOPA/PIPA is a red herring. They can declare anyone a criminal anywhere already. They’ve had that power.
One thing you all probably didn’t notice with all the SOPA/PIPA hoopla going on is that Obama is pushing for legislation that would require anyone registering a website to provide government-verified identification first. Then they’ll be able to go after anyone running a website, not just high-profile owners like Kim Dotcom and co.
rsanchez1 - January 19, 2012
The difference between Youtube and Megaupload is Megaupload is happy to have pirated content on their service.
Chrisness - January 19, 2012
You don’t think Google is happy to take in the advertising revenue from ads displayed on copyrighted videos posted on Youtube?
cameronjames - January 19, 2012
So megaupload is down, it’s indeed a black day for the internet
Zarnikon - January 19, 2012
Only American corporations are allowed to steal from Americans!
danielmalvarado - January 19, 2012
Such bullcrap. It’s no coincidence that this comes on the heels of SOPA being tabled. This is just further proof that there are laws in place already that allow piracy to be policed and attacked . There is and will never be a need for a vague over-reaching garbage bill like SOPA.
N8shon - January 19, 2012
The timing on this is very suspect. Makes me very angry my tax dollars are being used this way by the DOJ.
darthgault - January 19, 2012
The Day the Music Died
ranhalt - January 19, 2012
Most exciting thing to happen in Auckland in a decade, trust me on that!
Bostwickenator - January 19, 2012
Glad to know we have these dangerous criminals off the streets. Oh, wait, never mind.
jonbruck - January 19, 2012
I am against the censorship of the web but if we’re being honest, there are those who profit off of copyright infringement by hiding behind the “can’t help what our users upload” response. I like MegaUpload as a service and hope it will stay, however, if I’m being honest, the few times I have used MU it was not for legitimate reasons. This will be an interesting case to follow.
AlexH86 - January 19, 2012
a law which would grant the government the ability to attempt to block sites like MegaUpload from the US internet
kenadak - January 19, 2012
The most troubling part of that sentence is actually the phrase “the US internet”.
zourtney - January 19, 2012
Let me get this straight… you arrest the head of a company who makes it possible to upload music and have others download it, but you let B of A, Morgan Stanley, etc. get away with fraud against hudreds of thousands of people?
Hey DOJ, Go f*&k yourself.
donthasslethehoff - January 19, 2012
Quick, everyone pretend MegaUpload was a completely legal business that wasn’t aware that 90% of what its users used it for was illegal!
I’m as annoyed about this as the next guy, but seriously.
BenDTU - January 19, 2012 via mobile
am i the only one that finds it hysterical that the founders last name is dotcom.. like really? is that after a name change? that’s like a bank robber having the last name inbanks..
morgan hocking - January 19, 2012
lame. not kims real name. the internet is such a failure.
morgan hocking - January 19, 2012
Seems odd that the would just go after megaupload, like they could have arrested a bunch of site owners that do the same thing and call it a attack on pirates, but they just went after Megaupload. Doesn’t make much sense.
Cbolton97 - January 19, 2012
The thing that upsets me is that these actions seriously encroach upon freedoms set forth by the Constitution and decades of precedent. It is no more these websites responsibility to check the content hosted and shared by users as it is banks responsibility to make sure money deposited was gained by legitimate means. It is well known that drug dealers use the US Postal system to send their product cross country but do you see the DOJ going after them for not checking EVERY piece of mail? A quick scan is all they can reasonably do in addition to responding to requests to take doyn copyrighted material (which they do).
cameronjames - January 19, 2012
That is the biggest cop out ever. There is absolutely no reason host cannot take responsibility for easily viewable content. The same cannot be said of your analogy of money or mail.
The whole DMCA get-out clause is misused by everybody from crooks like these to youtube.
What they mean is their business model will not work if they have to check things, not that it is impossible
Boghog - January 19, 2012
So exactly how exactly are they supposed to check all content and when exactly did it become their responsibility?
cameronjames - January 19, 2012
“Oh look, what is this someone has uploaded to my server?”
“Its a Disney movie/Lady Gaga song/EA Game”
“Do I have the right to keep this?” No
Report offender to the Police
If it was anything else it would be called being in possession of stolen property but becasue of the stupid DMCA, they can cop out.
Boghog - January 19, 2012
multiply that by a million and it is untenable.
milkham - January 19, 2012
As I said, it doesn’t suit the business model that has grown but that doesn’t make it impossible.
If your business model isn;t tenable, you don’t do it, you don’t resort to stealing to make money or you should wind up in jail.
Boghog - January 19, 2012
Well safe harbor has an important role. But in this case they were ignoring takedown requests or complying in a way that technically may be ok but was not in the spirit of the law regarding takedowns.
Lomifeh - January 20, 2012
Not really that surprising.
oghowie - January 19, 2012
So when someone sends illegal goods through the mail, do they shut down USPS? Or FedEx? Or UPS? What about when someone drives with stolen goods in their car? Do they close the streets? When someone shoots a person do they shut down the store where they bought the gun?
sweetgreggo - January 19, 2012
If those illegal good are on display for anybody to see, YES
If someone has stolen goods visible in their car, YES
If the gun was old illegally , YES
Boghog - January 19, 2012
Okay, how about movie houses? If someone vid caps a movie do you shut down the theater?
sweetgreggo - January 19, 2012
It is all about taking reasonable steps. movie theatres display warnings, they actively look for people using cameras. If they did not they would not be allowed by that film company to show their films.
If they actively encouraged copying ( as Megauploads did) they would be closed down by the law,
Boghog - January 20, 2012
JACK BOOTED THUGS
jimbonics - January 19, 2012
This is absurdly offensive.
Duality - January 19, 2012
Did you get a whiff of that rancid stench? I smell the future!
.jay - January 19, 2012
We live in some crazy times. It seems like these kinds of stories are an everyday kind of thing.
jstine - January 19, 2012
There’s a reason they went after MegaUpload and not YouTube or Vimeo. Read up on the CEO and tell me if you think there wasn’t something shady going on behind the scenes. I think you’ll find they’ll have a valid case. Rewarding users for uploading copyrighted material should be a pretty big sign, that they’re not trying to run a reputable business.
I’m very happy to see them go honestly. Sites that intentionally profit off of copyright abuse should be punished. SOPA and PIPA are just as evil as those trying to make money off of other people’s work, they’re just different ends of the spectrum. The only victims I feel sorry for here are the legitimate users of the service that will be punished.
MightyMightyMe - January 19, 2012
I was literally just writing pretty much an identical comment RE: “Kim Dotcom”. The guy has a history of fraud, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine once they look into his accounts they’ll find some inconsistencies.
I also completely agree about MegaUpload, there’s a huge difference between sites like ThePirateBay and Isohunt, that index torrents and have adverts to help support the site, and MegaUpload, who actively profit from other people’s work, and from a large portion of their users. Last I checked nobody was being charged to use Vimeo, DailyMotion or YouTube.
Aaron Souppouris - January 19, 2012
What about other file hosting websites such as Rapidshare, Mediafire, Filesonic, Fileserve, etc etc. Where does one draw the line in which site to shut down? All of these file hosts have paid and unpaid access to content
Mike.S - January 19, 2012
I understand what you’re saying, it’s a slippery slope. I personally don’t like any of the sites that make money from file-sharing, when torrent is free and easy to use.
For the ‘commercial’ sites like those you mentioned, I think my moral compass distinguishes between them by how they deal with takedown notices. MegaUpload has ignored pleas from copyright holders, and I’m not talking about large corporations, i’m talking about individuals and small software developers. I have friends that have personally battled with the site to remove the offending item, to no avail – anything that drives traffic is good for them. RapidShare, on the other hand, is always removing files that infringe copyright.
Even if, like me, you subscribe to the argument that its not the sites responsibility to monitor content 24/7, you must surely draw the line at actively ignoring takedown requests whilst making money from the content?
Aaron Souppouris - January 19, 2012
Don’t get me wrong, I totally agree that the copy right holder has every right to request files be removed and the host (whom ever it is) should remove them right away. I have to deal with people pirating our content at the company I work for. I just fear this Megaupload take down is the beginning of a very slippery slope.
Mike.S - January 19, 2012
So we’re in agreement then. Huzzah!
Aaron Souppouris - January 19, 2012
I`d like to thank Anonymous for doing their part in retaliation.
CCasper - January 19, 2012 via mobile
Same I don’t always agree with the sites they hack and for what reasons, but since the DOJ isn’t going to listen to the American public then someone has to let them know that the people aren’t on board. I some ways I’m happy that this SOPA/PIPA/War against piracy is happening. It’s a great chance for the upcoming generation to get involved in the political system and voice their opinion. I sure let my rep. and senator know my opinion.
AlexObi1 - January 19, 2012
I wonder I they got the ‘more than half a billion arm to copyright owners’, I am seriously doubting this figure. Are they saying that the people pirating would have legally acquired the materials if they didn’t have a way to pirate.? I don’t think so
Jean-Louis - January 19, 2012
I concur. I believe companies always overestimate the monetary damages. Best case scenario half of the people pirating would pay for the content. It isn’t like the option for them to legally get the content isn’t there. They either don’t want to pay anything because their cheap or don’t think the price is worth the content.
AlexObi1 - January 19, 2012
They should also shut down USPS, UPS and FedEx while they’re at it. Those companies are all part of a vast conspiracy, aiding Mexican drug cartels by shipping thousands of kilograms worth of illegal substances every day.
tehnets - January 19, 2012
Good article on why it was brought down: http://arst.ch/s6t
aNYthing24 - January 19, 2012
Replace “MegaUpload” with “YouTube”, “Dotcom” with “Page” and “File” with “Video” and you get something like this…
The United States Justice Department filed charges against YouTube today, calling the video-sharing service an “international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy.” Founder Larry Page and three YouTube executives were arrested today in Auckland, New Zealand at the request of the US government under provisional arrest warrants, and the DOJ describes three other execs as “at large.”
The complaint alleges that YouTube, CEO Larry Page, and his team are responsible for $175 million in “criminal proceeds” and “more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners.” Specifically, Larry Page and six of his executives are charged with running “the Mega conspiracy websites” under a business model “expressly designed to promote uploading of the most popular copyrighted works.” The DOJ also says YouTube also developed its uploader rewards program as a means of laundering money.
The complaint charges Page, his executives, the YouTube company and a second company called Google which Page used to shield his personal assets. Specifically, the charges are:
- engaging in a racketeering conspiracy
- conspiring to commit copyright infringement
- conspiring to commit money laundering
- two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement
The DOJ has also issued more than 20 search warrants in the US and eight other countries, seized more than $50m in assets in the US, Netherlands, and Canada, and seized more than 18 domain names associated with YouTube. The investigation was led by the FBI with broad international assistance from New Zealand, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines.
The charges and the arrests come just a few weeks after YouTube itself filed suit against Universal Music Group for having a controversial promotional video featuring Kanye West, will.i.am, and other celebrities pulled from YouTube — it appears that battle was just a minor skirmish before a much broader international war. The enforcement effort also comes just one day after the internet community launched massive protests against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act in the United States, a law which would grant the government the ability to block sites like YouTube from the US internet. While SOPA has been tabled for the moment, the YouTube case should prove to be a flashpoint for the issue in the months to come: both an example of how large the claimed piracy problem has become and how the US can already enforce its laws with broad international support. Get ready for a ride.
Update: Rick Shera, a New Zealand-based attorney, reports on Twitter that Larry Page’s mansion is blockaded by police at all entrances. No escaping this one, it seems.
jonathanhaslett - January 19, 2012
say what you want in their defense, but im telling you, that piracy is the only thing sites like that are used for.
robbertbobbertson - January 19, 2012
Really? That is one of the most close minded comments I’ve seen. I use it almost every other day for school files or transferring files between my 3 computers. Maybe you should look past your tunnel vision.
Bluedrago505 - January 19, 2012
haha ok. i guess we dont share the same experiences.
robbertbobbertson - January 20, 2012
I guess that time I uploaded all of my assignments & videos that I’d produced for university to Megaupload I was stealing copyrighted work? XD
Duality - January 20, 2012
Aghhhh! Kim dotcom was in my city!!!
HillParkBakery - January 19, 2012
Ok so I did not realise this guy was a resident of New Zealand and actually lived here!
http://bit.ly/zaZa9l
HillParkBakery - January 19, 2012
anonymous is saying that mega upload is back at megavideo.bz , it seems legit but i’m not sure. Interesting strike back if its real.
rgritt - January 19, 2012
MegaUpload was always sketchy as hell, and Kim Dotcom and his staff knew they were selling subscriptions to pirated content.
Normally I would be against this sort of thing, but if you actually read the indictment and the chat logs, it’s pretty clear cut.
MegaUpload is/was a pirate site, plain and simple. I thought that most of The Verge readers would be for stamping out piracy where it does not interfere with freedom of speech.
Hamlet - January 19, 2012 via mobile
is his last name really Dotcom?
taco - January 19, 2012
So the USA government can go to any country it wants and shut down a website and arrest its creators just because they dont like it? Interesting how that works
AwwwYeah - January 19, 2012
Some of the servers were located in the United States.
dagamer34 - January 20, 2012
There are treaties in place for this sort of thing. Think about it, if there were no such ways to deal with people wanted for criminal behavior fleeing to another country it would risk war, sanctions and other things which would hurt a lot more people than this one person.
The fact there is a legal recourse to handle these things is good.
Lomifeh - January 20, 2012
Anyone who changes their name to Dotcom deserves to be arrested.
jquanmusic - January 20, 2012
Unless you have something useful or entertaining to say, I suggest you kindly hush up.
standupandbecounted - January 21, 2012
I will miss Kimble’s Gumball 3000 antics.
jonmilani - January 21, 2012
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